CBC's flagship news program sold favorable coverage to the Harper government, then lied about it

Jesse Brown from the Canadaland podcast (RSS) writes: "CBC News has made a bad error in judgment. They sold news coverage to the Harper government, who were seeking publicity for a shipwreck salvaging expedition which, in a federal Minister's words, is an effort to "enhance" Canada's sovereignty claims in the Arctic. The government is embroiled in a land claim dispute with Russia; both nations covet the massive oil and gas deposits that are thought to reside beneath the the Arctic Ocean. The CBC covered the government's (fruitless) salvage expedition with fawning stories across its platforms: there's a dedicated news website and a two-part documentary that aired on The National, CBC's flagship newscast. CBC Chief Correspondent Peter Mansbridge himself reported live from the Arctic on a Parks Canada boat, at no time informing viewers that the subjects of his story had paid for his presence."

You can read the confidential contract (unearthed through an anonymous Access to Information request) here, and the CBC's evasively-worded denial here.

"We do not get paid to provide coverage. Ever."
-CBC News Editor in Chief Jennifer McGuire

"CBC will provide news coverage on various platforms"
-invoice for services provided by CBC to the government in exchange for $65,000 (p.147)